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AE BETTER WORLD ENVIRONMENT CONSERVING RESOURCES
Conserving Resources outside parking areas. This reduction in wattage and the use of motion sensors also
We’ve introduced measures to reduce the use of energy, water, and other natural
resources in many areas of our company.
Pittsburgh Corporate Office Location
In 2007, we made a landmark decision to move our corporate world headquarters
to the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Once home to many
steel mills, the city of Pittsburgh has undergone a dramatic transformation in
recent years with the revitalization of former industrial sites. As a local company,
we wanted to support this urban renaissance.
Today, our corporate headquarters sits on a brownfield site on the banks of the
Monongahela River. Once home to a steel mill, the site has been cleared of all
lingering contaminants and is now a lush green landscape dotted with parks,
restaurants, shops, and office buildings. We are proud to call it home.
Energy Audit of Corporate Office
In July 2010, we conducted an energy audit of our main corporate office in
Pittsburgh. The audit assessed our performance on energy, water, and waste, as
well as the use of environmentally-friendly materials and innovation in design.
The audit highlighted several important areas in our operations, in particular,
opportunities to improve energy efficiency. Improving office energy efficiency is
now a key priority for 2012.
Energy Reduction in Distribution Centers
We have introduced several initiatives over the past few years to reduce energy
consumption in our three distribution centers.
Lighting Retrofits
In July 2010, we began a lighting retrofit project at our largest distribution facility
in Kansas. The project included updating lighting fixtures and adding lighting
sensors. We replaced 911 1000-watt fixtures with 480-watt high efficiency
fluorescent fixtures, and we swapped out another 114 480-watt fixtures with 354watt
fixtures. We were also able to replace half of the 1000-watt fixtures located in
reduced our air conditioning needs. Our projected energy savings from the Kansas
lighting retrofit is 7,741,469 kilowatt hours per year - an annual reduction of 38%.
We are planning to implement similar lighting retrofits at our other two
distribution centers in the near future. In the meantime, bulbs that burn out in our
other two facilities are replaced individually with higher efficiency fixtures. We
have also installed motion sensor lighting in less-trafficked areas, such as offices,
restrooms, and parts of the warehouse floors. When the buildings are empty, all
lighting is manually shut off and HVAC settings are adjusted to reduce energy
consumption.
“White” Roofs and HVAC Units
We have reduced our energy usage at our Kansas and Pennsylvania distribution
centers by installing white roofs, which absorb less heat from the sun and lower
cooling needs in the summer months. At our Kansas facility, the entire roof was
replaced with a white surface. In Pennsylvania, one third of the roof was replaced
during the summer of 2010 and we hope to replace another sizeable portion in the
near future. In the Pennsylvania distribution center, we also replaced 12 HVAC
rooftop units with high efficiency SEER-15 units. The energy reduction has been
considerable: our new HVAC units on the white roof portions have run 30% more
efficiently since installation.
Energy Reduction In Stores
In May 2010, we introduced a new lighting policy for store management. All store
lighting panels are now color-coded, with each color representing the time of day
at which certain lights should be turned on. Before stores are open to customers,
minimal lights are used. More lights are gradually turned on throughout the day to
accommodate store and customer needs.
In June 2010, we also introduced a policy instructing our open-air lifestyle center
stores to keep their doors closed year-round so that we don’t waste energy trying to
heat or cool outdoor space.
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